Are IFPG Brokers Consultants? Or Hucksters for the Graze Craze Franchise?
IFPG (International Franchise Professionals Group) members claim to be consultants & advisors – not just commission-hungry hucksters. Today, they’re glad-handing Ray Titus of UFG in Fort Lauderdale. Will they be thanking Ray for the Graze Craze commission checks? Or demanding answers about James Adam Jenkins and the potentially fraudulent earnings claims they shared with their prospective franchisee “clients.” by Sean Kelly
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) Related: GRAZE CRAZE Who is Convicted Fraudster James Adams Jenkins aka J.A. Jenkins?
International Franchise Professionals Group (IFPG) members – like other franchise brokers – like to call themselves professional “advisors” and “consultants” who provide valuable guidance to franchise-seeking “clients.” As an added benefit, they say, their fee is paid for by the franchisor whose franchise they select.
It’s undoubtedly true that there are some members of IFPG who are knowledgeable and truly do prioritize the well-being of the franchise-seeking individuals who look to them for guidance and expertise. Others recommend the many ludicrous & doomed franchises in the “IFPG Top 100” out of cluelessness, while others know better but prioritize easy commission checks above all else.
I do not know the percentage breakdown of the three IFPG member sub-groups (Ethical, Clueless, or Greedy), but IFPG’s own orientation would have been revealed by its interaction with commission-check-writer UFG CEO at the IFPG Retreat in Hollywood, Florida* which ends today. (Ray Titus was reportedly not in attendance, though UFG HQ is just up the road from Hollywood).
IFPG Rates Graze Craze as a Top 100 Franchise
Despite my earlier warnings (GRAZE CRAZE Franchise Review, United Franchise Group (UFG) GRAZE CRAZE Franchise Warning), IFPG praises Graze Craze as a Top Franchise opportunity.
IFPG’s Red Boswell’s on the UFG Titus Center (named for FTC permanent injunction recipient Roy Titus) Advisory Board.
Several IFPG consultants embraced the UFG-fueled hype of their “Graze Craze,” franchise offering & encouraged “clients” to invest. They likely based their recommendations on the information provided in the Graze Craze Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), and sworn to be complete and accurate, under penalty of perjury, by Brady Lee.
They brag about their commissioned Graze Craze sales: An IFPG Consultant’s Candidate Signs For a Graze Craze Franchise in Colorado!
Two weeks ago, UnhappyFranchisee.Com reported that the Graze Craze Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD) issued in 2021 (original & revised) may have contained serious material omissions of fact and required disclosures.
- Will IFPG demand answers from Ray Titus & UFG?
- Will IFPG demand an immediate 3rd-party audit of the Financial Performance Representations likely prepared by a convicted fraudster?
- Will they demand recission and reimbursement for their franchisee “clients”?
- Will they continue to chase after Graze Craze franchise commission checks or suspend them immediately?
- Or will Graze Craze remain an IFPG “Top 100” franchise?
Failure to Disclose James Adam Jenkins aka J.A. Jenkins in Item 2: Experience
The initial Graze Craze FDD submitted in 2021 to registration states did not disclose either co-founder Kerry Sylvester or her partner James Adam Jenkins. Unhappy Franchisee exposed this omission and UFG added Kerry Sylvester and resubmitted its registrations. However, James Adam Jenkins who allegedly co-founded the concept, conducts owner calls as “founder,” and oversees company (affiliate) Graze Craze locations is not disclosed in the 2021 FDD, Revised 2021 FDD or the 2022 FDD.
Failure to Disclose James Adam Jenkins aka J.A. Jenkins in Item 3: Litigation
None of the three Graze Craze FDDs provided to registration states and franchisee prospects disclosed the disturbing criminal history of James Adam Jenkins aka J.A. Jenkins described here:
GRAZE CRAZE Who is Convicted Fraudster James Adams Jenkins aka J.A. Jenkins?
Item 19 Financial Performance Representations Unaudited, Prepared by Fraudster J.A. Jenkins?
Graze Craze is an relatively unproven, experimental concept with a very limited operating history.
IFPG franchise brokers and their prospective franchisee clients and their advisors would have relied on the Item 19 Franchise Performance Representations (FPRs) to assess the viability of the concept. The FPRs disclosed in the Graze Craze FDD included both gross sales, costs and profitability of four company (affiliate) Graze Craze locations in Oklahoma.
All four of those affiliate-owned stores (Newcastle, Norman, Yukon, Edmond) are believed to have been under the direct management and control of James Adam Jenkins and Kerry Sylvester.
Did convicted fraudster J.A. Jenkins supply the unaudited sales and profitability data disclosed in the FDD.
Does the sales information for these stores include any forms of atypical revenue that would not be available or reflective of franchisee revenue?
Consultants or Commissioned Sales Reps? An Easy Test for IFPG & Other Broker Groups.
Ultimately, one cannot serve two masters – or two competing interests.
Does IFPG primarily represent the interests of franchise opportunity seekers or the franchisors who pay their fat commissions?
IFPG consultants should be livid that their clients were provided incomplete and possibly fraudulent information – under penalty of perjury.
They should demand answers from Ray Titus and Brady Lee.
They should demand a full explanation, revised FDD and offer of recission and compensation for their franchisee clients.
They will demand an immediate, professional audit of the financial representations.
IFPG leadership should suspend Graze Craze participation in their program and issue a statement.
And IFPG should conduct a thorough review and assessment of United Franchise Group (UFG) concepts in the past, including SuperGreen Solutions and Experimac/Experimax to determine the failure rate of “clients” they sent to UFG.
These are things that true advisors & consultants – whose allegiance is to franchise buyers – would do.
Or they can do what franchise brokers have always done:
Cash their commission checks, drink the franchisor’s booze in Fort Lauderdale, call themselves consultants and never, ever check on what happens to the franchisees after their check is cashed.
Related reading and research:
GRAZE CRAZE Franchise Posts (All)
GRAZE CRAZE Locations–Franchise Watch (UPDATED)
Franchise Scams promoted by IFPG
UnhappyFranchisee.Com is an independent publication and not affiliated with Graze Craze or United Franchise Group
UFG’s Experimax Formerly Experimac:
EXPERIMAX EXPERIMAC Franchise Expose: Behind the Curtain Web Series
UFG CEO Ray Titus: STOP Promoting the Failed Experimax Franchise!
EXPERIMAX EXPERIMAC Franchise Report (The Index)
UFG: The Lost Brands:
UFG’s Plan Ahead Events Franchise: What Happened?
UFG SUPERGREEN SOLUTIONS Massive Failures, Titus Fraud Allegations
FRANCHISE DISCUSSIONS by Company
ARE YOU A UNITED FRANCHISE GROUP FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH GRAZE CRAZE, UNITED FRANCHISE GROUP OR RAY TITUS? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Tags: IFPG, International Franchise Professionals Group, Don Daszkowski, Red Boswell, Graze Craze, Graze Craze Franchise, Graze Craze Oklahoma, Kerry Sylvester, James Adam Jenkins, JA Jenkins, , UFG, United Franchise Group, UFG Expose, Ray Titus expose, franchise expose, Ray Titus